5 things you missed: How to brick your Xbox One, more

By Dan Lewis, Digital First Media

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

1. You will not be able to play Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One

A supposed hack that has been circulating around the Internet promised Xbox One users a the ability to play Xbox 360 games on the new console. The only problem with the hack is that, well, it doesn’t work. In fact, the hack sends the Xbox One into an endless reboot cycle, which brings back nightmares of the “red ring of death.”

The moral of this news is this: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Make sure that the information you find on the Internet comes from verified sources, such as Microsoft employees.

“To be clear there is no way to make your Xbox One backwards compatible & performing steps to attempt this could make your console inoperable,” Xbox One spokesman Larry Hyrb tweeted on Friday.

In a move to bring in more online shoppers, Target has rolled out a new feature, the “Target Awesome Shop.” The site uses Pinterest recommendations to show the items that are getting the most action on the social media site. With Pinterest pins steadily increasing in social value, the “Awesome Shop” is built to take advantage of Pinterest’s popularity to increase sales.

The shop isn’t limited to Pinterest, and has the potential to incorporate more social media sites in the future. Target will monitor reactions to the new feature and see how the service could fit in with company plans in the future.

3. You went Android after going Apple – but what to do about missing text messages?

With the proliferation of deals on smartphones this holiday season, you might find yourself switching from an iPhone over to an Android model. The new operating system might take some getting used to, but there is something that you need to do if you switch your phone but keep your number.

Apple phones use an app called “iMessage” to send text messages for free between other iPhone users. Before you switch phones, you’ll need to go into the settings on the iPhone and flip the switch for “turn iMessage off on your iPhone.” If you go forward without doing this, text messages from other iPhones will be sent to the iMessage account associated with that phone number, where they will queue in the cloud without an end delivery destination. If the problem continues, it may require a trip to the Genius Bar at the local Apple store – just make sure that you don’t schedule the appointment via text message.

The popular Internet radio service has updated their iOS app to include a programmable alarm clock. The new features for Pandora let you choose a time for the alarm to go off (pretty standard), along with a snooze button and a sleep timer. You can choose how long you would like to wait between alarms with the snooze button, and the sleep timer can shut off after 15, 30 or 60 minutes.

Unfortunately, these features aren’t available for Android users, and Pandora has yet to announce when they will be. If you have an Apple device, it’s time to create a “go to sleep” channel and queue up your favorite white noise albums.

Microsoft has announced redesigns of its Bing app for iOS and Android, with the new versions available for download. The most significant upgrade to the app is the ability to add Bing’s “image of the day” as your lockscreen.

On Android, turning this new feature on is not difficult – just tap the middle button at the bottom of the screen. For iOS, it would be easier for you to click on the link below and read the instructions.